I always love to think that as Phase 2 begins, all the Radahn soldiers see the meteor and gather around the castle walls. They watch the fight in awe, but as it goes on, they slowly realize that their master is finally going down to the long wanted rest. As the shock falls to silence, from 3:49 one soldier begins singing farewell, followed by others.
Despite being a worrier at heart he still mastered the sorceric arts of Gravity for 2 reasons. 1. So he could still ride upon the back of his horse friend. 2. So he could also pick a fight with space...
@@glorytoukraine5524 I mean, if you're being eaten from the inside by scarlet rot and simultaneously holding space itself still, you'd have a lot on your mind xD
I've honestly never realised how good the soundtrack in the second phase is, too busy staying alive. The fight already felt like a festival for a warrios funeral but the music just perfectly adds to that.
Malenia nuked all of Caelid in hopes that it would wipe Radahn and his army out completely. After the dust settled to her horror not only his Radahn still alive…he is up and still killing everything that approaches him. She lied about never knowing defeat because upon that sight she said “ah nah I can’t fuck with that dude” and dipped out of there.
@@ouchpotato2221 True, but not even she is in much better shape than him: The explosion in Caelid has practically reduced her to a comatose state, forcing one of her knights to have to carry her back to Helphael and from which she will only awaken MANY centuries later, when we players enter his arena for the bossfight (yes, that's right: She wasn't taking a nap, when we arrived. She was still in a coma from her fight with Radahn). And what's more, all her efforts were in vain: The only reason she waged war against Radahn in the past, was to protect Miquella... but she couldn't have known that a much more subtle threat (Mohg) was hiding in the shadows , waiting to act as soon as Miquella and Malenia were separated, even if only temporarily. And so in the end, she still failed in her purpose, also coming EXTREMELY close to definitively transitioning into the new incarnation of the Scarlet Rot (in order to become it, she had to make the Aeonia flower, bloom three times and fortunately we kill her, after the second bloom) .
On my first play trough, I remember purposely dying when he was 2 hits from death, only to do the charge and fight again. Probably the greatest and epic combat in my gaming career.
Its like me fighting Ludwig the Holy Blade, during his first phase I wanna get it done with, but his 2nd phase, I want it to last, and even when he kills me I get up from my couch and just start dancing its so epic.
This man, this champion, this ABSOLUTE UNIT, deserves every little bit of respect he can get. This ain't no puny General. This is A CHAD, A GOD, A LEGENDARY WARRIOR. I take my hat off for FromSoftware for creating one of, if not THE BEST designed bosses EVER. Lorewise, Gameplaywise, and overall. He's not a boss, he's THE BOSS.
Not sure I've ever felt so much respect and admiration for a boss in a game, but everything about Radahn just broke me heart. I truly hope we gave Leonard and him a proper death full of peace, or at least absent of rot.
Recently read a fan story about Radahn and Leonard being sent to another world, the opening retells the fight between him and Malenia and the aftermath of the Scarlet Aeonia, in it the Red manes catch Finley carrying Malenia away from the battlefield, they were ready to kill them angered by her lack of honor and the destruction of caelid. but even as the rot affected him Radahn ordered them to cease and let them go, they honored their leaders command but a knight yelled at Finley to tell Malenia that she was spared by Radahn when she awoke. As thanks Finley apologized for the disaster and told them fire would help stave off the rot. I'm convinced that's sort of what happened afterwards, there was no other way for Finley to make it out of Caelid carrying Malenia without them letting him go, Radahn would accept his defeat with grace even if it was a dirty trick and let her return home. That's how honorable he is.
he didnt lose tho. its stated it was a draw. even malenias own daughter says that malenia had to "discard her very pride and use the rot just to meet radahns match"
@@sudanemamimikiki1527 people overlook that one line so much. The game itself is telling us she had to FULLY crutch on her outer god curse just to MATCH Radahn not surpass him, just MATCH him
This fight, especially the second phase didn’t feel like i'm fighting to survive like the other fights. This it felt like a duel, a funeral, a farewell of a warrior. I think this ost fits the fight so well. It’s like finally putting a great warrior to rest.
He decide to die as he lives, as a warrior with honor in company of his beloved horse. Even in the item descriptions he meant leave his horse so he isn't a burden to him and doesn't die with him, but Leonard decide to stay wit his master, even if they decay to the rot too and whittered from the cycle of death and rebirth from the golden tree. If one boss in the game should had the title of a true GIGA CHAD, should be Radahn. Together with Morgott, i do believe Godfrey was proud of both of his sons (step son on Radahn), as Radahn inhert his honorable warrior spirit, and Morgott inhert his judgement and will despite his condition.
Spoilers for the DLC (though I imagine if you’re here after 2 years, you probably know): I always wanted to hear a more full version of this part of Radahn’s theme. And f**uck me they delivered with Promised Consort. Probably my favorite track on the whole album including base game OST. And ik people complain a little bit about bringing back Radahn, but I’m absolutely in love with it. Sure, second phase feels super overwhelming, but the fight as a whole is so goddamn good. IMO relentless and overwhelming =/= bad. I also like how we now know WHY Radahn challenged the stars.
Realising upon completing the DLC that this man held back the ascensions of 2 Gods. Ranni, by refusing to relinquish his arresting grip on the stars. Miquella, by refusing to die. And yet his final wish was to be granted a warriors death. Knowing whoever took him down was up the task he undertook countless years ago. Truer heroes the Lands Between does not know.
'He is said to be the mightiest demigod of them all. By using the magic of the stars and through sheer will, he arrests their movement. For Lady Ranni's fate to be set in motion once again, General Radahn must be released from his burden. To play such a part, is indeed an honour' -Blaidd, probably.
Everyone: "He's the strongest demigod! He mastered gravity and conquered the very stars. He was so powerful that the undefeated swordswoman and daughter of the very god that ruled their lands had sacrificed everything just to stand a chance against him! You yourselves know that you all can't even hope to stand a chance!" Me and the bois: _"We know. But as fellow warriors, we want to take a stab at it anyway."_
To think… just to imagine that Radahn was also scared of Maliketh is just scary, what would a demigod, the strongest of them all, conqueror of the stars, have to fear? Well, even Malenia was scared of him, goddess of rot an all, can’t blame them tho, he took out most of the god-skin apostles, killed their god, and did it on his own, the Black Blade Maliketh surely would have been terrifying on his prime, since on his already weakened form all demigods still were afraid of him.
He defeated Death itself and bound it to his blade. He didn't just defeat a force of nature like Radahn did, he defeated a function of the universe, ensuring immortality to the other demigods
Why General Radahn was the greatest Demigod of the age. He held back the very stars themselves to keep the dark eldritch horrors from beyond to descend upon the land… even in a state of madness. He kept his ideals untarnished, true to his soul. Starscourge Radahn, General of the Redmane Armies. Your legacy will never be forgotten, for you are the greatest hero of the Shattering.
@@ivanchaki372 Then you learn that he is not Radahn at all. He is basically the body of Mogh tranfigured with the soul of Radahn because certain femboy turns out to be a yandere all along.
@@ivanchaki372 I agree. I mean the way it happen. It seems there is tid bits about the reason why Malenia was trying to kill Radahn it isnt' because of the great runes but because Miquella wanted his soul for this very reason. But Malenia failed and make him into the midless beast you had to fight.
@@ivanchaki372Elden Ring isn't JJK. You can see VERY briefly when phase 2 kicks in the red flames around Radahn before Miquella shows up. That could be Mohgs body fighting back or it could be Radahn finally regaining his mind. If it's the latter then you would have fought THE Radahn and not a puppet. But then the red flames turn gold as we see Miquella come out as a new god and Radahn then becomes a puppet once more.
0:00- 1:35 "METEOR!!!!!!!!" Blaidd: TAKE COVER!!! *Radahn crashes in the middle resulting heavy injuries amongst the champions that were in it's sights* *Then summons four boulders with the power of gravity then starts charging the champions with full ferocity.* "HOLD THE LINE!!!!! WE MUST BRING THE GENERAL DOWN!!!!! COVER THE FLANK!!!" *The young confessor heals the wounded samurai as the rest of the group fought hard against Radahn* Alexander: This will be the battle of the ages!!!! HYYAAA!!! *the ground shook the earth with his mighty fist. The General stunned after the shock* 1:36-2:42 From the distance, an old soldier approached in the field of battle and was ready to prepare to honor his general's dying wish. Castellan Jerran: My General...May you rest, knowing your loyal soldiers will be destined to join you very soon...*roars in triumph as he charged in with the others and killed Radahn*
Story time. When I beat the boss all the fight had dragged on for 20 minutes as I resorted to hit and run tactics. I fought under leveled I had blaidd and Alexander alive and charged in dealing the final few hits as the music swelled up when I win my first reaction. Was to salute and wave my arm in triumph not because I beat radahn. But because I freed radahn He was a good soldier....shame malenia bionuked him
Spoilers for the DLC: Imaginate you're so badass that you turns out to be the only good guy all along and make the one everyone to be the "good guy" a yandere femboy, just because the yandere femboy was to much turned on by your gigachad dong. More Spoiler: (everything is take from lore description) Turns out not only the Radahn at the final of the DLC is underpower, but a mere copy of the original Radahn as Miquella transfigurate him inside Mohg's corpse with his soul (Reason why you had to beat Radahn and Mohg to enter the DLC) to make him looks like Radahn in his prime before the rot's corruption. The very reason why Malenia was fighting Radahn instead of protecting Miquella is because Miquella himself order Malenia to kill Radahn since he rejected Miquella from become his consort (YES... it can also be resume the entire thing as Miquella wanting GAY SEX. Who would it though), at the same time it was Miquella who let himself been take by Mohg instead in order to trasfigurate himself into the Shadowland to make the same rite Marika did to ascend godhood. What Miquella didn't count was: 1- Malenia didn't kill Radahn at all. Only the tarnished. So he got the soul by pure luck. 2- Same for Mohg, as it was Malenia the one who suppose to kill him instead, but Malenia end up confined into the Haigletree waiting for Miquella because he never told her the other part of the plan. It was again pure luck that the tarnished decide to kill Mohg too. 3- and spoiler for the DLC, the interference of the tarnished inside the Land of shadows, because Leda though you were a follower of Miquella, when the Erdtree grace was guiding you there all along.
The only megachad who took Radagon, Rennala and Godfrey's legacy to a universal level! No man can deny that he's the ultimate gigachad all men strive to be! However I think Morgott is on his level in terms of honor and power. He just restricted himself to follow a different type of integrity. Getting to experience these fights alone doesn't make me regret 1 second I spent on this masterpiece. Looking at Godfrey's glorious portrait alone already makes you believe in manhood again!
For real, if there was an option to repair Radahn and give him the seat of Elden Lord I would have done it. The man is command and strength and power incarnate. And honorable to boot
His second phase theme is somber too. Someone put it best: this isn't a fight, it's a funeral. You're putting to rest a once great hero who has since gone mad from the rot, and you're doing it the way he's always wanted to go out: in battle.
@@tombuchan3614difference is, Goliath and his friends all WANT David to win. So he may kill the scarlet rot infected Goliath and set his soul and mind free.
The fact Radahn is essentially challenging the player(s) to kill him by any means necessary and still manages to be a tough fight just cements how much of a badass he is. Holds back the stars while having what amounts to super brain cancer, uses gravity magic to allow him to ride into battle with his favorite scrawny horse, was so badass he forced Malenia to use hax abilities, turns himself into a meteor as a phase transition, his warriors respect him so much they host a festival to give him an honorable death, etc. etc. He is just him in every way.
I just realized radahn is literally like a stage 4 cancer patient that might as well be a veggie. And yet he still holds back the stars and gave you and a bunch of other tarnished a hard fight. Radahn is him
@@unterhau1102 Tarnished: "So this demigod is super powerful, right?" Jerren: "Oh, well, he's a footless paraplegic with full-body stage 4 cancer and literal brain rot, who rides a tiny little stick of a horse." Tarnished: "Pffft, that sounds like it's going to be so easy!" *5 minutes later* Tarnished: "Jerren, you asshole! That dude is a freaking galaxy flinging titan!" Jerren: "Yes, who is also a footless paraplegic with full-body stage 4 cancer and literal brain rot. I never said he wasn't still super powerful even with all of that, now did I?"
I loved how the transation from phase 1 to 2 can immediatly invoke a realization. The first phase simply exists to display Radahns commanding prescense, a heroic warrior not afraid to fight. But as soon as the phase ends you come to an realization. That you have been mislead by the first phase, this is no honorable brawl between two foes, this is a funeral. This is you granting a once great hero his final wish.
I love how the fans always give such a deep meaning to (most of) Fromsoftware bosses, when in reality Miyazaki probably just said "I gonna put a Chad general who rides a tinny horse 'cause I think it'd be cool😎"
I'm honestly not sure what's more impressive, the fact that even in this horrible state Radahn still manages to hold back the stars, or that his little horse buddy has decided to loyally accompany him even now Both Radahn and Leonard are absolute chads
@@sorath1396 Another couple of fun facts: Radahn 's biggest role model was Godfrey. That's why his armor resembles a giant lion. He even named his steed 'Leonard' (which means Lion strength or Lion-hearted in Germanic words). His name is a male version of the slavic name 'Rada' which in slavic languages means willing/filled with care (and we all know how honorable and strong willed he was, despite being a war general who lusted for the great runes). The game's easy to judge negatively because of the repetitive bosses and the absurdly long boss combos, but once you dig in its lore and where things come from it's astonishing.
@@Panzerfaust-ux8xb I prefer long combos etc to combos that give you time to attack because in real life a opponents last thought is to give you an opportunity to attack
easily my favourite demigod, loved by all his soldiers, master at close range and ranged combat, mastered gravity magic, uses 2 massive black iron swords, dudes clearly the coolest demigod
@@SuperElectroAddict Radahn was the hero as far as I'm concerned, Malenia gets talked up as undefeated and the hardest boss in the game (which she is but for bs reason, I digress), but Radahn, mangled by her rot and driven to near madness, is still a master combatant, arch-mage, and capable of acts that deem him worthy of godhood in his own right. No wonder she had to pull out the instant win button for him like she does in her fight lol
@@dodgeroll7475 Radahn was definitely the hero, at least from my perspective. I haven't deeply dived into lore, but I think personally, rot invoked some heavy negative emotions out of me from the beginning. Hearing that Radahn was the one holding the line cemented him a hero to me. I was only sad to find out what genuinely happened to him in the end. But during my playthrough (1st time) I felt a strange obligation to "free" him out of respect for what he was and tried to do. Radahn, so far, has to be my favorite boss both in lore and out.
@@dodgeroll7475 not only that, Radahn was still able to move and attack even after her Scarlet Rot Nuke. Finlay saved Malenia's slumbering self, otherwise Radahn would've clobbered her. The man still held up the stars and kept his horse safe when his insides rotted out, legendary stuff
The poetry in Radahn story is beautiful. As a child, he watched Godfrey's and Radagon's prowesses and thought to himself that he would surpass these legends legacy. A will so strong, a hunger for power and glory so great that he fought the stars. As limitless the cosmos is, Radahn has become something greater. His search for glory made the whole universe bow to him. Stars, that inspire poets, writers, astronomers, mages, that have fascinated humankind for ages are now vassals of the golden Lion. When Malenia fought him during the shattering, she's seen readjusting her prothesis. In front of her, General Radahn stands still, arms crossed in the battlefield. He bends gravity to take his two colossals swords, and lets out a devastating battle cry. A roar of hunger, because the Red Lion is hungry for battle, and his apetite has not yet been satisfied. And his end is as beautiful as it is sorrowful. Rest now, Starscourge. You have fought well, and your funeral was one of a true demi-god. A title that you did not only inherited, but earned.
And Malenia lost the due so she has to semi sacrifice herself and be in a coma to win yet she still didnt plus she was carried by her soldiers away in order mot to get killed by Rahdan
When the main reason you keep raging at your TV is because you can't kill a boss, it's normal. But when you do so because you know you still couldn't free him, it hits very differently. Radahn is such a masterpiece of a character.
Scarlett rot kills the average tarnished in a minute or so... This man has been infected for perhaps thousands of years and still goes one v 20 while grappling with Solar body's and surfing his conically small horse. I honestly can't blame Patches for dipping...
@@TheEldenVoxif you watch his battle with Malenia, she stabs herself AND him with the same blade, allowing her rotten blood to flow inside his veins. Plus the whole of Caelid is literally scarlet rot infused because of Malenia alone, imagine being literally a centimetre away from the thing that caused this desolation.
this fight is unique, i've never once in my life as a gamer charged into battle against a gigantic demigod with my friends and a powerful emotional music in the background, this plays like a game but feels like a war. i don't think we will ever experience anything quite like it ever again, this is just the peak of the gaming.
It was a great experience pre nerf but now he is kind of a pushover which is really a shame, I say buff his damage by 50%, attack speed by 20%, tripple the health and let him heal to full health whenever he does his comet attack. That way the fight would reflect the lore more accurately I think
Nobody needed to have their opinion reinforced that Radahn is a badass, but today I learned that the arrows he shoots at you are the spears that the enemy has stabbed him in the back with. He's yanking those mfs out of his back
Literally everything about Radahn is testosterone overload. When you think of how our ancient ancestors must have viewed the war gods Radahn is it. Everytime you learn something new about him it just makes him more badass
The more we learn about him, the sadder this song becomes. He should've been Elden Lord. Miquella and his blade wielding yeast infection are the worst.
Daily reminder that Malenia was in a coma from blooming the Scarlet Aeonia to us encountering her at the Haeligtree and that she had to be dragged away to safety by her last remaining knight. If that ONE mf didn't survive, Radahn wouldve just rampaged over there and eaten her eventually. She definitively lost.
Also a reminder that she had to nuke the area to “win” and she didn’t even kill him literally played her biggest trump card and all it did was make radahn pissed off and have stage 4 brain cancer that won’t kill him.
@@-_-ligma radahn was holding back like 90% if his power and respecting the fight whilw malenia didn't. Allowing her ro put back her arm before picking up his swords is proof of that, radahn couldv'e nuked Caelid like she did but he didnt.
What's incredible about this song is how it's feels like it's constantly getting more epic over time, even when played in a loop. Kind of like the Shepard tone but for epicness. No wonder why it's so hard to stop listening to it.
This song really hits hard and makes any real man cry after they hear how great Radahn was.Even though he lost a lot of strength and reason and had to fight challengers like us, he still tried to imprison the space monster Astel...a true hero of heroes. Every time I fight him, I feel like I am a warrior coming to free Radahn, a battle between warriors and killing Radahn is both a free and an honorable death for him.
The only boss I legit charge right at,it just feels like a boss where you know he'd want to die by a warriors hand who wanted to win and honor a final wish.
This game's OST just gets better by going back to it. Weirdly enough it shines brighter without the game... in-game it's harder to notice how good it is.
It happened in all souls games, I always killed a boss and then looked for the OST on youtube. With the only exception of Oceiros, that I died to him many times because the music was so good I got distracted.
Yeah, from software games have ridioulusly good soundtracs. It´s insane that they manage to consistently have absoulutely beautiful, epic and haunting pieces, that are also thought out, and not like in many cases "just there because there has to be music". The fight against Radahn really blows it out of the park, at the same time turning an already awesome bossfight into an epic. Still remember the first time the second phase hit and me just pausing a moment and having shivers go down my spine. But well, I think that is what you get if you get both, Miazaki and Martin in one room to work with From Software. As a whole, their games are so great in world building and it is a great pleasure to have studios that don´t focus on making as much money as cheaply as possible with the same ever more derivative techniques and plotlines, but on what is actually important, creating a great and interesting story and world that stays with people. There are reasons things like Star Wars have gripped culture for decades without letting up or why certain legends and storys that originated in antiquity or even earlier (for all we know) haven´t left humanitys concious to this day. And that´s not profit.
I love how his phase 1 theme starts out as menacing to showcase his strength like "get ready btch." Then during the 2nd phase it sounds more honorable like a march. Ending with a sad melody to reflect his sorrows and the pity of what went wrong with him. Kind of makes you think how triumphant he was in his prime and brings you back to the past of the game. Love it.
The swelling music at the climax makes me think of the Redmane knights attending the festival, watching from afar. The Radahn Festival is more a funeral than anything, a celebration of the great warrior and general Radahn was, honoring him even as the Scarlet Rot forces him deeper into insanity. The second phase theme isn’t Radahn going beserk. It isn’t him unleashing his full power. It is the song of his people, his Redmane warriors, chanting, cheering, celebrating that their general, who suffered for so long, is finally being put out of his misery.
This man learned gravity magic so he could ride his horse without crushing it. In a wholesome way this man did this. He is a real one or at least he was before malenia maleina'd all over caelid.
General Starscourge Radahn. Ruler of Caelid and the mightiest demigod of them all. The only warrior who was ever able to best Malenia in combat. A true gigachad.
I'm kind curious to why radahn has to be killed for the DLC. Because, you don't NEED to kill him to get to mogh so he has to have some sorta significance in the DLC. Especially since there are gravity tree sentinels and some of the places in the DLC has that same sorta gravity effect to them.
@@donladimagine fighting prime radahn while he wasn't holding back,like bro would probably have throwing meteors the size of a car as part of his combos💀
The OST music of the phase 2 is SOOO shakingly epic, solemn and powerful to the extent that I voluntarily died to Radahn a few more time just to enjoy the scene of fighting him with tarnishd friends in the dessert under the starry night with these OST drums beating. Bravo to Radahn, FS team, Miyazaki and all maker of this dreamlike beautiful game / music.
This is a fight that will forever stick in my brain as legendary, even more powerful after understanding that youre mercy killing him and the music becomes much more emotional
The true hero of Elden Ring... Radahn held back a malevolent force that was descending from the stars and, with only his will and determination, held it back, even though his sister cursed him with Scarlett Rot... he deserves his own DLC...!
I did not give any attention to radahn's second stage because i've either died too fast or killed him too fast for the choir part to kick in. What an incredible piece, From Software continues to amaze me over the years with their excellent choice of music artists. And thank you TOMITO for this, wouldn't have heard it otherwise!
nowadays people just cheese every boss in the game and they miss on these majestic osts like this one. From really needs to rebalance the most broken shit out there, i think everyone had fun already with the broken shit including me, let's bring back the glory to these awesome bosses. Also giga buff morgott and radahn hp lol. And giga nerf bleed From, not lol'ing but for real, imagine if you were a bleed build against gael but with the bleed effectiveness of Elden Ring (In DS3 proccing bleed on Gael hits for like 3% of his health) and instead of battling him until fierce death, humanity against humanity, the last boss of the series, with a huge health pool, he just melts away in 1 min instead when any other build would have taken at least 4-5 min is way too much of a "different experience" it's just plain and wouldn't feel like a real victory, it wouldn't be the epic fight it was back in Ringed City. It gets worse when considering the broken posture system there is in elden ring that the bleed build can also stunlock any boss lol.
I was one of the few lucky enough to play the game on launch and experience the glory of pre-patch Radahn. He was one of the hardest bosses I've ever fought but it felt like a straight-up raid boss-level victory to finally beat him. Wish they would revert some of the insane nerfs on him
(Prob gonna get wooshed for this) Taken in lore terms, radahn is shown to have mastered gravity magic (presence in attacks / weapon) so i think he would be able to make himself extremely light for his horse to carry, Gravity is also present with his meteor attack as usually a lot if gravity users that have mastery over the element has come from a meteor, uses similar attacks and etc.
@@vIntothewild You aren't wrong - Radahn literally learned gravity magic as to still be able to ride his beloved horse, which he couldn't do at some point because of his size.
Note radahn NEVER has his horse on reigns. Those sweeping attacks, plunging slams, the fucking meteor attacks... Leonard WAS MOVING towards you FOR Radhan. He chose his rider the way Radahn chose him.
This was the phase which truly brough me hell, with summons being crushed as quickly as I could call them, I must've died at least ten times to the 2nd phase alone. Then I cheated and drowned him in the ocean.
I wonder if radahn wasn't rotten by the rot after the battle of aeonia and if not opposed to the tarnished like godfrey at the end what kind of alignment he would have, probably he would be allied to goldmask seeing how both of them share a very similar view to the golden order and keep back the intervention of the outer gods seeing its unique emperor gaiseric, tywin lannister noblebright vibe that he imposes.
Would probably rally the Redmanes and take Limgrave and Stormveil Castle, kill Godrick, and take over his great rune. And move his HQ over to Stormveil. With Godrick dead, the rest of his soldiers would most likely surrender and join Radahn. This way he'd get both Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula. Not to mention, Liurnia would most likely support Radahn because he's Rennala's (possibly) Firstborn son.
I'd like to imagine he'd work alongside his sister ranni, perhaps releasing the stars long enough to let her reach her fate, then re seal it to ensure she's immortal
![Elden Ring OST - Starscourge Radahn [Phase 2 Extended]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
